Online Piracy Killing The Music Industry Worldwide...The Age Of The Internet

If you download or stream from pirate sites, think twice. Online piracy puts a strain on emerging artists as much as established artists who have already made their mark, but the relative damage could be worse than estimated.The impact of piracy on established artists is often cited because it’s easier to put a number to it. 

Keith Kupferschmid, CEO of the Copyright Alliance, states: “Piracy arguably hurts independent creators who are struggling to make it – including photographers, film producers, musicians, and app developers  more than it harms established artists. Independent creators are striving to earn a livelihood and make a career.  When they are pirated they lose essential income, they lose confidence, and the lost income prevents them from re-investing in their creative work.”

 Kimberly James, President of indie label CBM Records, says within two hours of releasing music she has found it illegally downloaded on hundreds of pirated music websites. “There actually isn’t any less incentive for an up and coming artist’s music to be pirated than a famous artist. Pirates scour the web in a ‘just in case they make it’ scenario to take artists’ music and profit illegally, often in countries where we have no legal grounding to sue them.”

James adds: “What people don’t realize is that this is someone’s livelihood and illegally downloading music is essentially stealing their hard work. The artist isn’t compensated, so all the life savings that they spend to make the music they put out isn’t recuperated. What I say to the fans is that we need YOU to be our partners and buy the music. If you love the artist or band, buy it. If you don’t have the money to buy it, then you have other avenues of listening these days that AT LEAST pays them something, but don’t just take their hard work.”

To fight back against internet piracy, CBM Records joined forces with #ProtectOurFutures, which launched in July 2015 to raise awareness about internet safety and the damage of piracy on artists. A spokesperson says: “What many people don’t realize is that many up and coming artists are one missed paycheck away from homelessness. It’s already difficult for an artist to make a living through recording, performing, and selling their works, especially independently. So how unfair is it that they then have to turn around and worry that their music is being illegally downloaded?” Digital tech expert Eric Feinberg, who selflessly funds #ProtectOurFutures, adds: “If we do not address and fix piracy many artists will not be able to make a living. And without artists there is no audience.”